Action Figures and Dominoes
by Pandafan91
Summary: After an accident involving Po's prized Master Tigress Action Figure, Tigress comes to learn just why exactly it is that Panda cares so much for those ridiculous toys of his and that maybe...they might possibly have more in common than she ever could have imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, For those of you who don't know me, I am Pandafan91 and I have finally returned to continue writing KFP fics for all to enjoy. After a series of events forced me to put Fanfiction on hold for the past 3 months or so, I am finally back and ready to get back into the swing of things. However...As I said I have been gone for a while so before I go back to updating my current stories, "Fate Can Be So Cruel Part 2: Return to the Iron Mines" and "Kung Fu Panda: Time Waits for No One" I'm going to use this short story to help be get back into the groove of things. **

**This will only be a 3 chapter story but I hope people can enjoy it all the same.**

**Enjoy the Read!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, nor any of it's characters...or Po's action figures. Those are his.**

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><p>"<span><em><strong>Action Figures and Dominoes<strong>_"

_Created by Pandafan91_

**Chapter 1**

**The Accident**

The day had started out just like any other day would have in the Valley of Peace. The Sun rose up from behind the Mountains to greet the world and the inhabitants of the Valley had once again begun yet another glorious day. With the Sun now shining high and bright and the skies void of practically any clouds, save for a few here and there; the day was simply turning out to be absolutely perfect and everyone in the Valley was already out and enjoying it. But the villagers weren't the only one's who were excited about such a day.

Sitting up high above the Valley of Peace at the top of the infamous Thousand Steps, sat the glorious Jade Palace, home to Grandmaster Shifu, the Dragon Warrior and of course the Furious Five. Shifu, after suffering through several hours of one rather stubborn Panda's whining and begging for him to give the Warriors the Day off from training, eventually had succumbed to his student's pleas and granted the warriors a reprieve from their daily training; on the condition that Po agreed to not only clean the Sacred Hall of Warriors from top to bottom...without breaking a single artifact mind you... but also the Training hall at the end of the following Day...without any assistance from the Five or anyone else.

Of course Po agreed to his Master's terms right away without any hesitation and the Kung Fu Masters were granted their free day. Although, even Shifu had to admit the weather was perfect for allowing him to spend some time up at the Pool of Sacred Tears to meditate. A spot that the old Master cherished greatly, yet rarely visited those days thanks to his duties as Grandmaster. But now that he no longer had to oversee his student's training, he could be free to spend the morning up at the Pool. On top of that, he managed to get the Panda to agree to some additional chores around the Palace without so much as a ghost of an argument. A truly marvelous achievement in itself most of the time.

Although the majority of the Kung Fu Masters at the Palace were indeed pleased and grateful to their Master's kindness, there was one warrior in particular who wasn't as thrilled or excited about being given a day of relaxation. Her name was Tigress, esteemed member of the Furious Five and a dedicated Kung Fu warrior through and through. Kung Fu was, for the most part, her entire life. So whenever Shifu did in fact grant the students a reprieve from their daily regimen, Tigress was always left beside herself and this time was no different.

While the others enjoyed their given free time doing whatever it was they did, be it going into the Village to kill some time, practicing an art of some sort such as Calligraphy or maybe ribbon Dancing, or maybe even just taking it easy and taking an afternoon nap in the student barracks, Tigress was one to spend her free time just as she would spend it on any other day in one of 3 places: The Hall of Heroes, studying the Thousand scrolls of Kung Fu. The Palace court yard, practicing her meditation and peace of mind. Or the Training Hall, working on improving her skills for as long as she could before Master Shifu would chase her out and demand she take her free time seriously since it came around so little.

Today of course was no different and once again, while everyone else had been discussing what they were going to do with their allotted time off, Tigress had been hard at work inside the Training hall honing her skills.

While the Master of the Tiger was standing on the edge of the Jade Tortoise Shell of Wisdom on just one foot, her paws brought together in front of her chest, with her elbows straight, while her eyes were closed in concentration, the remaining four Members of the Furious Five stood along the walkway on the opposite side of the Training Hall watching her, while Viper tried to talk to Tigress one final time, "Tigress, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" while Crane called over from beside the snake, "Yeah Tigress, you never know, maybe you'll see something you'd like down in the Marketplace."

Tigress sighed in frustration as she cracked open her eyes into slits and began to roll them in annoyance. That morning, Po had proposed to the entire group at breakfast that they should all venture down into the village Marketplace with him as a means of something to do. Immediately Tigress declined, saying that she would rather use her time training and preparing for the next inevitable danger, rather than wasting it looking at frivolous nick-knacks, or whatever it was Po wanted to go and look at.

Of course, her instant reply to the Panda was a bit upsetting to the large bear, but Tigress barely even noticed. The rest of the group however did and were since trying to convince the Tiger to join them while Po was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Monkey then called out for about the third time, "Oh, come on Tigress, what's the big deal? It's only for a couple of hours!"

At this point Mantis hopped down from Monkey's shoulder where he had been sitting and onto the Training hall floor and said, "I don't see what the problem is, Tigress. I mean, it's not like Po asked you out on a date or anything-" At this point, Tigress's eyes snapped wide open and her balance faltered just a bit, but she managed to regain it just as quickly. Thankfully her back was still to the Five so nobody was able to see her facial expression. Mantis then continued, "-He just wants to spend time with everyone together. And I think there was something about some super awesome vendor that was coming to the Valley this week that he wanted us to see."

Tigress then released an annoyed sigh as she fought to keep herself from growling at her comrades, "For the last time, I said I would rather train. The rest of you can feel free to leave the Palace with the Dragon Warrior, but I for one will not be abandoning my training for some random vendor."

Crane and Viper then looked at each other briefly before the avian asked, "You sure Tigress?-" While Viper added, "-Because it has been a while since any of us have left the Palace other than for a patrol. Wouldn't it be nice to get out, just for a little while?" Yet again, Tigress merely replied, "Have a good time." Resulting in both Crane and Viper to merely shake their heads in defeat.

Just then, the Training Hall doors opened up to reveal the Dragon Warrior walking through them and into the training hall, carrying in his right paw what the Four Masters standing off to the side noticed to be his treasured, hand crafted, Master Tigress action figure. As Po approached his friends, he asked each of them with an excited smile on his face, "You guys ready to get going!? I totally don't want to miss out on all of all of Xiao Xiang's wares. All of his best stuff get's sold first and goes fast!"

Monkey nodded as he looked over at the Panda and said, "We're all set Po, just waiting on you." Po nodded before he looked over at Tigress and called out, "Hey Tigress, are you coming with us!?" At this point, Tigress was about ready to use the Wuxi Finger hold on the next person who asked her that insufferable question...that was of course, if she actually knew HOW to use the Wuxi Finger hold. But it was a tempting thought in that moment all the same.

Tigress then shouted at the Five warriors behind her without turning around, "FOR THE LAST TIME, I SAID NO!" For a moment there was nothing but silence throughout the entire training hall as everyone stared at Tigress wide eyed. Po blinked at the Feline several times before his ears fell in disappointment and he muttered, "Sheesh... okay, it was just a question. What's with her today?" As Po asked this, he was now looking over at the rest of his friends who were merely shaking their heads while Viper answered, "She just wants to focus on her training Po, don't take it personally."

Po just nodded in response but the frown never left his face as he looked back and over at the Tiger. Seeing this, Monkey decided to try and change the subject by asking, "So, we all set for you to show us this _Awesome_ Vendor of yours, or what?" Immediately Po's ears shot back up and his frown was instantly replaced with a smile as he said, "You bet! The kitchen's cleaned up, I've got my Tigress action Figure, my list-" at this Po's paw immediately reached inside his one pocket in search of this list of his he just mentioned, but instead of pulling it out, Po's face once again fell, only this time it was in confusion. "-Huh? That's weird... must of left it back in the kitchen. I'll be back guys, I just got to go grab it!"

The others just sighed but nodded in understanding all the same. Po then began looking around the training hall as if looking for something specific when his eyes finally landed on Mantis. Po then walked over to the insect and bent down, placing his Tigress action figure on the ground standing upright beside his friend while asking, "Could you watch this for me till I get back, Mantis? It'll be just for a minute." Mantis briefly looked at the wooden replica of Master Tigress before looking back up at Po and nodded his head while saying, "Sure Po. Hey, maybe I could actually beat this Tigress in a sparring match now that we're the same height! Heh heh heh."

Po just rolled his eyes and shook his head briefly before straightening up and began rushing over to the training hall doors while shouting back, "Be right back!" But just as Po rounded the corner he stopped abruptly and turned back to look around the corner and back into the training hall and said, "Please don't let Mantis break my Tigress Action Figure! It's totally one of a kind and Super special to me and-"

But before Po could finish rambling, the other Masters all shouted over at the bear, "Just GO!" causing Po to be taken aback a bit before muttering, "Okay, sheesh... touchy." and with that, he disappeared around the door once more to head back over to the kitchen.

Once Po was gone for good this time, Viper the stated to the group, "Honestly, I love Po like a brother, I really do. But sometimes I just can't help but worry about him." The guys all continued looking over where Po had disappeared from, as they each replied in perfect unison, "Yup." before taking up various places nearby to wait for the black and white bear to return.

Once Po had finally vacated the training hall, the other Masters seemed to have lost the need to talk amongst themselves and a relative silence seemed to fall over the training hall. "_Finally_." Tigress thought to herself before taking a deep breath as she prepared herself. Now she could finally concentrate on her training.

Monkey, who was now leaning up against the wall next to a weapons rack happened to look up and notice Tigress was now stretching her arms out from side to side and so the primate motioned over to the tiger with his head and alerted the rest of the five, "Check it out." The 3 remaining masters then looked up and over at Tigress just as the Feline snapped her eyes wide open and instantly leaped backwards into the air off of the Tortoise shell and right into a triple back flip, twisting her frame around at just the last moment so that she could land on all fours ontop of the spinning logs, which she then immediately proceeded to dash across of as quickly yet gracefully possible.

The others watched as Tigress maneuvered across the spinning logs, never faltering or losing her footing even once as she sped across the obstacle while she narrowly avoided each of the Seven Swinging Clubs of Oblivion. The second she reached the end, instead of jumping off to the side to stop, Tigress then surprised the other Masters and immediately pushed off the logs and flew off to her right, landing straight in the middle of the gauntlet of wooden warriors where she proceeded to then assault the wooden targets with no mercy.

As Tigress proceeded through the sea of warriors, it was Viper who stated out loud, "She must be going for a new personal best for how fast she can make it through the obstacle course." Crane, who was standing over near monkey nodded his head while saying, "That'd be my guess. But look at her move. She's so focused right now that she's already just about out of the gauntlet."

It was then that Tigress had leaped up and delivered a powerful spin kick aimed at the final wooden dummy in her way, releasing a mighty, "Hyah!" before landing on her feet momentarily in her fighting stance, before she leaped up onto the next level and dove straight into the center of the Field of Fiery Death!

The instant she landed, Tigress's ears caught the sounds of several wheels and gaskets turning beneath her and quick as lightning, Tigress side stepped to the left to avoid a deadly stream of fire shooting up from the vent underneath her. But the instant she arrived at a new spot, Tigress was only given the briefest of seconds to determine where to move next to before more fire proceeded to shoot out from underneath her. This dance went on for several seconds as Tigress continued to dance around the field, bending and swerving around the fire that was trying to catch her, but to no avail.

As Tigress continued to dodge the intense flames, Monkey then whistled before saying, "Wow, look at her go. She really is trying to get that personal best. So far not a single flame has managed to catch her. She probably isn't even sweating over there and those flames are no joke." The others just nodded in agreement as they watched Tigress maneuver around the Field.

Finally, after managing to narrowly avoid the latest stream of fire from beneath her, Tigress finally saw the opening in the flames she was waiting for and immediately jumped forward as far and high as she could, where she proceeded to reach upward and grabbed onto the first of the Seven Talon Rings hanging above the training course.

In no time, Tigress began to swing from the rings one by one, reaching forward and grabbing the next ring in front of her while using her momentum to swing forward as she managed to keep herself from getting cut by the many blades decorating the rings. As she reached the last ring, Tigress then proceeded to shift her weight to the right and she then used the ring to carry her over towards the walkway where her comrades were standing by.

As soon as Tigress began swinging over towards them, Crane then shouted, "Everyone look out! She's coming this way!" Immediately, all four of the other Master's scattered to get out of the way, including Mantis. But as soon as he got a safe distance away from the area Tigress was no doubt about to land in, Mantis realized that he had left Po's action figure behind in the heat of the moment. Mantis then turned around quickly and shouted "Oh man! Tigress, wait!" But it was too late.

As soon as Tigress was carried over the Gauntlet of wooden warriors below, she quickly released her grip on the final Talon ring and proceeded to allow herself to fall down to the walkway beneath her, allowing herself to perform a quick flip while she was in mid air.

Mantis and the others watched as Tigress exited her flip and landed onto the walkway in a dismount. But instead of landing with what should have been an almost inaudible "Thud" what the Masters each heard instead was a rather loud "Crunch!" Mantis then muttered out once more, this time in a far off tone, "Oh man."

Tigress's eyes snapped wide open at the unexpected sensation she had felt underneath her right foot. It took less than a second for her mind to register the pain that was now coursing through her foot before the feline released a vicious roar as she shouted, "GAAAH!? What in the name of...!?" but while Tigress was shouting into the air around her, she carefully lifted her foot up and tilted it to the right so that she might examine what foreign object she had managed to land on top of.

She was expecting to see one of the throwing stars they used for training or perhaps some other piece of equipment that Po probably had forgotten to put away once he was through with using it. Imagine her surprise when what she saw was in fact a wooden replica of her own head wedged in between the paw pads on her foot. As soon as her eyes discovered the object, they narrowed in an instant as the Tiger master growled dangerously, "Po...of all the stupid things for him to do-" but Tigress was cut off as Viper called over to her, "Tigress, are you okay?"

Tigress then quickly brushed the wooden head off her foot and watched it fall onto a mass of what she quickly discovered to be a pile of what was now crushed and shattered pieces of Po's one and only Tigress action Figure. Apparently this was what Tigress landed on top of when she dropped from the last talon ring.

Once the rest of the five had gathered, Tigress then answered the serpent, "Fine Viper...but that Panda and I are going to have a few words when I see him next." It was then Tigress and the other Masters heard Mantis groan, "Oh man, look at it! How could I have let this happen!?" It was then that Monkey, Crane and Viper all looked down and saw what Mantis was talking about and each of them gasped lightly in shock and horror.

"Oh dear." Viper whispered while Crane stated, "This isn't good." Monkey then added, "Dude, Po's going to completely lose it when he sees this!" while Mantis groaned again while saying, "What am I gonna do? The big guy trusted me to watch his action figure and I let him down." Monkey then looked over at the insect and warned, "You better think of something quick, Mantis. Po will be back any minute now!" but before the insect could ask for any suggestions, Tigress rolled her eyes before nearly shouting, "Oh for the love of... do you people even hear yourselves!? It's just a stupid doll! It's not as if it's a priceless artifact from the Hall of Warriors."

Viper then looked up at Tigress and said, "Somehow, I don't think Po is going to feel the same way Tigress. You know how much he cares for his action figures." Tigress just huffed as she stated darkly, "Well it serves him right for leaving his little toys lying around. The training hall is the last place that...THING... should have been in the first place!" It was then that Monkey suddenly heard their Panda friend humming to himself outside the hall and the Primate quickly warned the others, "Shh! Here he comes!"

Immediately both Monkey and Crane moved to stand in front of the destroyed action figure while Tigress refused to move from her spot behind them as she folded her arms and muttered, "Perfect timing."

Po then walked in through the opened Training hall doors waving his list he had gone and fetched around while saying, "Got it! You guys ready to go and see Xiao Xiang, the greatest vendor of all time!?" but as soon as Po finished his sentence, he was met with nervous smiles all around. Well, except for Tigress of course, she was just glaring at the Panda like she did whenever Po did something to annoy her, which was pretty often.

When nobody answered the Panda right away, Po lowered his list to his side and asked with a raised eyebrow, "What's going on?" Viper was the first to snap out of her thoughts and quickly slithered forward up to the Panda saying, "Nothing Po, nothing at all. How about we get going so you can take us to this vendor you've been talking about so much right away!" As Viper was trying to Push Po out the door with her head, she only managed to get him a few steps back towards the door before Po stepped around her while saying, "Just a minute Viper, I have to get my Tigress Action Figure first." As Po was now walking away from her, Viper called after him in a nervous tone, "But uh...um...you see..." but she couldn't think of anything to say to stop the bear.

Soon Po came to stand before Crane and Monkey and immediately Po tried to step around them while saying, "S'cuse me guys." but as Po stepped to the right, both Monkey and Crane stepped to the left blocking his path. "Whoops." Monkey muttered anxiously while Crane stuttered, "S-S-Sorry Po." But whenever Po tried going left, Monkey and Crane each went right, continuing to block his path. "Guys, come on!" Po whined slightly, though you could easily hear the growing irritation in his voice.

Eventually though, Po decided enough was enough and so he reached forward with both paws in between Monkey and Crane and pushed them both in opposite directions so that he could get through between them. "Seriously guys, I just want to grab my Tigress action figure and then we can all-!" but as soon as Po's eyes drifted towards the floor, his voice along with he heart practically all but stopped. "-...go."

There, lying on the floor next to an incredibly nervous Mantis, was perhaps the most horrifying sight Po had ever seen before in his entire life. His most prized action figure out of his entire collection, was now lying before him in a heap of splintered pieces. Everyone waited for the Panda to say something... to do SOMETHING... but not so much as a sound came from the Panda, at least not right away.

His eyes never once leaving the remains of his action figure, Po's legs suddenly gave out from underneath him and the Panda fell to his knees with a low thud, completely unaware of the fact that he almost dropped on top of Mantis, or that Tigress was still standing a few paces in front of him while glaring in his direction.

The other Masters just watched helplessly as Po slowly reached forward with shaking paws while whispering, "No...How...what happened to you?" as Po carefully began to pick up the pieces of the action figure and held them in his paws while his eyes continued to stare at them in absolute horror. Mantis then stepped forward and tried saying, "Po...Po I'm sorry. It was an accident, I swear. It all just kind of happened so fast...Man, I'm sorry."

But Po never answered the insect. Instead, he slowly began to piece together the toy's broken parts piece by piece in his paws, but of course that was going to be useless and the bear soon realized this once his paws shifted and the pieces did the same.

Po's eyes were quickly filling up with tears as he brought his shattered treasure close to his heart and released a quiet sob that he was trying to suppress. This single action however was enough to push Tigress over the edge as she threw her paws up in the air and shouted, "Oh for crying out loud! Get over it Panda, it's just a stupid doll!"

The other four Masters gasped at the sudden outburst, while Viper cried out, "Tigress! Now isn't the time for-" but Tigress cut her off as she took a few steps forward, now standing directly in front of Po and said, "Are you kidding? Now is the perfect time to say it." Tigress then looked down at Po who had yet to tear his eyes away from his shattered toy and snapped, "It's high time someone told him to grow up already. And since none of you will say anything, I will." Tigress's eyes then narrowed even further as she looked down on the Panda and stated, "You're supposed to be the Dragon Warrior for crying out loud. A Kung Fu Master and protector of the Valley of Peace! One of China's great heroes! The Time for playing with dolls is long since past, Panda!"

At this, Po's grip on the pieces of his action figure tightened significantly, yet he refused to raise his head to look up at the Tiger Master, as more and more tears continued to fall from his face and onto the wooden floor beneath him. Tigress then continued, "Besides, it only serves you right for leaving your little toys lying around in the first place, but more than that, Dragon Warrior name aside, you're a grown Panda, you can't be playing with dolls like this all the time or even at all! It's pathetic." At this point, Po's body was slowly beginning to shake and his breathing was starting to pick up.

It was here where Monkey interjected, "Hey Tigress, maybe you should ease up." while Crane added, "Yeah Tigress, maybe now isn't the best time to talk about this." but the feline just said, "Nonsense. If someone doesn't give it to him straight, then he'll never grow up. He needs to learn that there comes a time in life where you just can't keep playing with stupid toys any more like a child and you have to grow up. Personally I'm glad this happened. Maybe now he can start taking his duties as the Dragon Warrior more seriously. Honestly Panda, I don't understand what you see in those stupid things. Tell me, when was the last time you saw a Kung Fu Master playing with some stupid little-"

But It was in that instant that Tigress's sentence was cut short, as Po abruptly shot up to his feet, his paws still holding his Tigress figurine close to his chest. But what silenced Tigress in that moment wasn't the fact that Po had suddenly moved, but it was the new sound that was now coming from the Giant Panda. No longer was Po crying over his damaged Action Figure. Now...Po was growling.

Tigress blinked a bit before looking at the Panda's face and admittedly was surprised at what she saw. Tears were indeed still flowing from the Panda's eyes, but Po's brow was now furrowed in anger while his teeth were now clenched while also being slightly shown. Nobody said anything at first, simply due to the fact that no one had ever witnessed this side of Po before. But after a few seconds, Tigress eventually straightened up and stood her ground as she shifted her person slightly and asked, "Do you have something to say to me, Panda?"

Po's growling then ceased, yet his glare seemed to only intensify. At first both Po and Tigress continued to merely glare at each other, but after a moment Po took a few steps closer, past Mantis and was now standing almost nose to nose with the Tiger Master. Tigress was about to push the Panda back when Po whispered in a voice clearly fueled by anger, despite him trying to hide it, a single word that stopped Tigress in her tracks. A word that she never in her wildest dreams ever thought would have such an effect on her mentally and certainly nothing she expected Po to say to her face while in the presence of so many others. Or for that matter ever at all!

"Dominoes."

Immediately Tigress's heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened significantly while Po continued glaring into the Feline's fiery amber eyes. The remaining Masters were now all looking at each other clearly confused, when suddenly Po had turned around and began leaving the Training hall. "Po?" Viper called out in concern, yet the Panda never so much as acknowledged her as he continued holding his broken Tigress action figure close to his chest and continued on out of the training hall.

Viper then looked back to Tigress an said, "Tigress, you really did go too far! You should really go after him and-...Tigress?" the others then turned from watching Po storming out of the training hall to look over at their other Comrade, who now appeared to be starring off into space. "Tigress?" Monkey called out to the Tiger who suddenly shook her head briefly before saying, "Huh? I...I'm sorry... there is something I need to take care of right away." But before anyone could question the Feline any further, Tigress had dropped down to all fours and began sprinting out of the Training hall and began heading over into the direction of the student barracks.

Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis all watched Tigress practically flee from the training hall, each with their own looks of confusion etched on their faces, "Umm...what just happened?" Crane asked as he adjusted his hat while Monkey was scratching his head in confusion while he said, "I...have absolutely no idea."

Viper then looked over at Mantis and said, "Come on, let's go and try to find Po. The poor thing looked really upset." Mantis nodded in agreement, and together he and Viper began to leave the training hall followed closely by Monkey and Crane.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to any of the warriors, Master Shifu had bore witness the entire situation from above, as he kept himself hidden from within the shadows of the rafters. He had originally planned on heading up to the Pool of Sacred Tears earlier that morning but had decided to observe the Results of Tigress's training beforehand, as he knew she would more likely than not refuse to skip out on her training, and it was a rare opportunity to see how far she had come without one of the other Masters present to distract her.

Once the coast was clear, Shifu quickly dropped down from the ceiling and walked over to stand outside the training hall doors. As he looked off to the right, he could just make out Tigress disappearing into the Student barracks, while his other students appeared to be searching the grounds for Po who had managed to give them all the slip.

As Shifu's eyes drifted back to the student barracks, he began to stroke his beard lightly as he said thoughtfully out loud, "How very interesting."

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><p><strong>And there you have the first chapter. Like I said, it'll only be a 3 chapter story and this is purely just to help me get back into the swing of writing. Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and remember...<strong>

**REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 all set and ready to go. **

**Enjoy the read!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**Inside the Student Barracks...**

Tigress had just slid the sliding door to the Student barracks shut behind her and proceeded to lean up against the frame, her brow now furrowed and her eyes closed in frustration as she continued to take in several short breaths. How did he do it? How in all of China did that Panda learn of a secret that she had done her best to bury so long ago? A secret that she had never even considered thinking about until he uttered that one, single word?

But there was also something else that was bothering the Tiger Master even more. Po just had the biggest opportunity to expose her dark secret to the rest of the five... to humiliate her shamefully just like she had clearly done to him...but instead, he was so quiet back in the training hall despite his angered state, that Tigress was certain that no one, not even Mantis who was right beside the pair at the time, could have heard the Panda whisper that word.

No, Po made sure that Tigress was gonna be the only person to hear him in that instant and for some reason that truly rattled the Tiger the most. He wanted her to know that he knew...but why?...How!?

Tigress then slammed the back of her head against the door fram as she muttered, "How...how did he find out!?" realizing that the walls surrounding her were more likely than not going to present her with an answer, Tigress began walking down the hall and past the kitchen, slowly making her way over towards the Student's sleeping quarters.

In no time at all, Tigress finally made it outside her room and after looking around briefly and making sure that Po wasn't across the hall in his own room, Tigress quickly slid open her door and entered the room quickly, sliding the door shut just as fast.

Once inside, Tigress released a deep breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding before opening her eyes and proceeded to scan the room. Everything was exactly as she had left it that morning. Her bed, which sat low to the ground was off to her left up against the wall. At the back of the room sat an average wooden chest which contained all of Tigress's training uniforms and other attires for various occasions. And finally, to her right sat a single ruby red Meditation Mat, given to her by the Late Grandmaster Oogway himself years ago.

Cautiously, Tigress made her way over to the mat and proceeded to inspect the area around it. Unfortunately, tidiness was a habit that Shifu had drilled into Tigress during her first days at the Jade Palace, so there was no dust on the floor anywhere to tell her if the Mat had been recently moved or not.

As Tigress inspected the mat, she found that there wasn't a single wrinkle in it to be seen, none of the corners had been overturned and as far as she could see, it had not been moved since she last used it. Seeing that nothing was out of place in her room did nothing to ease Tigress's worries however, as she knelt down before the mat and released a frustrated sigh.

After staring at the mat however and after making sure nobody was around once more, Tigress slowly lifted the mat up from it's spot and rolled it up, placing it off to the side up against the nearby wall. Tigress then proceeded to unsheathe her claws and after carefully searching for a specific floorboard, began to wedge the board out of place. Although initially difficult to manipulate after years of not being moved, the floorboard eventually was pried free and Tigress was able to set it aside.

Looking into the new rectangular gap in her floor, Tigress then proceeded to dig through all the straw that acted as insulation for the building during the winter months. It didn't take her long for her paw to brush up against something underneath the straw though and Tigress was able to hear a series of clicks and clanks. Realizing she had found what she was looking for, Tigress then gripped the object in her paw and pulled it up through the floor, brushing a few stray straws off as she did so.

What Tigress was now holding in her paws wasn't anything truly special to look at. Just a medium sized brown pouch with an even darker brown draw string stitched into the top of the back, which was tied up nice and tight. "It's still here." Tigress whispered to herself as she looked up from the pouch and looked around her room once more. "_But then...if he never found it...how did he know about it?_" As Tigress wondered this, she absentmindedly began to undo the knot in the string, pulling it loose and opening the pouch slightly, allowing daylight to enter it's confines for the first time in years.

Tigress then proceeded to open up the top of the pouch entirely and peered inside. There, siting inside the pouch were maybe a hundred hand crafted wooden dominoes, each with one side painted a bright golden color, which the light would reflect off of if held properly.

As Tigress knelt there in her room, a small smile slowly spread across her face as she remembered the day she had first received this special gift. It was Master Shifu who had given her these very dominoes when she was just a small child, back when she used to spend her days at the Bao Gou Orphanage. Before Shifu had officially adopted Tigress and saved her from that wretched place, he had come and visited her on multiple occasions at the request of the caretakers who worked there, to teach Tigress how to better control her unusually great strength.

The method he had used to help Tigress learn how to control her strength was the dominoes. In time, Tigress had come to learn how to handle the small wooden blocks without crushing them and as a reward, Shifu had given Tigress the wooden blocks to keep, so that she could always remember those first lessons they shared...and so that she could finally have something to call her own.

As Tigress allowed herself to reminisce about her early days with Shifu, she slowly began to pick up one of the dominoes from the bag and place it down on the floor on it's side in an upright position. First one domino...then another...and another. Until finally it seemed like she was in a trance, completely unaware of her own surroundings and only focusing on the task at hand.

While Tigress continued placing the blocks onto the floor one by one, she eventually began to wonder how many years it had been since she had last even seen these dominoes. Was it shortly after coming to the Jade Palace? Or perhaps later? She couldn't remember the last time she ever held the wooden blocks, or when she hid them away in the first place. But she could remember why. It was because of Shifu.

Ever since Shifu rescued Tigress from that awful place, Tigress had only ever wanted to make him proud. To show him that taking a chance on her wasn't a waste of his time. That she could do anything and everything he could ever ask of her and more. To become the perfect warrior...the Dragon Warrior.

So in order for her to truly achieve that goal, she had come to the decision that she would need to completely devote herself entirely to her training, which to her, meant giving up her dominoes and to stop acting like a child forever and start acting like an adult.

Tigress was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that when a new voice called out to her from behind, it startled her a bit, causing her to almost knock over the twenty or so dominoes she had managed to stack up already, "Well... It has been a rather long time since I have last laid eyes on those particular wooden blocks." Tigress whirled her head around while getting to her feet in an instant and her eyes shot wide open in absolute horror when she saw that it was Shifu standing in her doorway watching her...playing...with the dominoes.

If Tigress's fur could have shown her reaction right then shifu would have watched it turn roughly 3 different shades of white. "M-Master! This isn't what it looks like I...I can explain!" Shifu then proceeded to enter his student's room, his eyes never once meeting Tigress's as he began to study the positioning of the blocks Tigress had already placed.

For perhaps the most awkward moment of Tigress's life, nothing was said as Tigress stared in absolute horror at her Master. She could not have appeared to have looked more like a child if she tried. A Kung Fu Master, member of the Furious Five and Master of Hard style...was caught playing with toys.

After a moment though, Shifu finally picked up one of the many blocks that were still inside the brown bag and stated, "There will be no need for that, Master Tigress." Shifu then surprised Tigress as he proceeded to step around the dominoes on the floor and placed the one he had just picked up beside one that she had just placed herself. Shifu then looked up at Tigress and was unsurprised to see her staring at her Master completely dumbfounded, as he motioned for Tigress to come fourth and to continue where she had left off.

For a brief moment, Tigress could do nothing but stare at her Master as he waited patiently for his student to take a seat. Slowly, Tigress once again walked over and knelt down across from her Master, who once again motioned for her to place the next block, a small smile barely visible across his face. This did nothing to ease Tigress's worries though, yet she slowly reached for the next dominoe and carefully placed it in front of the one Shifu had just placed, her eyes never once leaving her Master's.

Once Tigress had finished placing the domino, Shifu then proceeded to reach for a new block and placed it in front of Tigress's latest addition while saying, "I must say, I am surprised to see you have kept these all these years, Tigress." Tigress merely lowered her head in shame as she slowly picked up the next block and whispered, "Forgive me Master...I know I should have gotten rid of them a long time ago."

As Tigress placed the block down, she looked over to see Shifu was now refusing to meet her gaze as he proceeded to pick up the next block and asked, "Oh? And why is that?" After Shifu placed the domino, turning the block just to the right, Tigress then answered as she lowered her head once more and picked up another block, " Because Master...they are just little blocks of wood for little children to play with...not something that a Kung Fu Master should be wasting their time on."

Shifu nodded briefly before he pointed out, "And yet, here we are." as he placed another block down on the floor. Tigress never said anything though and for a moment, each master simply continued taking turns placing the blocks, one after the other.

After a short while though, Shiu then asked, "Is that all these dominoes mean to you though Tigress? That they are just mere blocks of wood for children?" Tigress then answered quickly, while still refusing to make eye contact with Shifu, "Yes Master...that is correct." Shifu nodded briefly before muttering, "I see...so then tell me...why hold onto something that apparently holds no meaning to you for so many years?"

At this point Tigress stopped herself from placing the next domino and pulled her paw back. As Tigress turned her paw over to look at the wooden block that rested in her paw, the light coming in from outside reflected off the wooden tile's painted surface. "I...I don't know why Master...I must have just forgotten about them."

Shifu however was unconvinced as he reached for the brown bag and grabbed another tile while saying, "Lying to one's self, is no better than lying to one's own Master, Tigress." Tigress looked up from her tile and over at her Master, her eyes wide with surprise, only to see Shifu now had his own eyes closed in frustration. He had caught her, and they both knew it.

Tigress was about to apologize to her Master when Shifu stated, "There is no shame in looking back on one's past, Tigress." Tigress then tilted her head slightly as she asked, "Master?" Shifu then continued as if not hearing her as he looked at the newest block he had picked up, "Amazing, isn't it? How we are able to associate memories with mere everyday objects. How one object can provide one memory for one person, and yet that same object can recall a different memory for someone else entirely."

At this point, Shifu looked up from the domino and over to Tigress as he finished with a slight smile, "And then...for certain people, there are special occasions where the same object can also provide them with the same memory."

Tigress watched Shifu place his latest domino in place with interest as the Red Panda continued still, "Tigress, you have come such a long way since the lonely, little girl who I met in that Orphanage all those years ago. Why, I can recall our first lesson together and how you used to crush these wooden blocks without so much as even trying to."

At this Shifu smiled as he recalled how frustrated Tigress used to get over crushing the wooden dominoes, and Tigresss herself could not help but smirk slightly. Shifu then added, "And now...here you are, a dedicated Kung Fu Master in her own right. The obstacles you have overcome over the years have been nothing short of harrowing and as your Master, I could not be more proud of you, my student."

Hearing this caused Tigress to quietly gasp. She certainly wasn't expecting the conversation to go this way. To hear Shifu say that he was actually proud of Tigress was something Tigress could count on one paw how many times it had actually happened.

Tigress then bowed her head as she whispered, "M-Master...I...Thank you Master." Shifu nodded as he said, "You are welcome Tigress...however...that does not mean that you are not without your own faults...for instance, speaking of crushing things..." At this, Shifu trailed off and Tigress's ears fell as she muttered, "So... you saw that?" Shifu nodded as he confirmed, "Every moment. And I must say, I am rather dissapointed in how you chose to handle the situation."

At this Tigress turned her head to the side and quietly huffed before asking, "Master...please do not tell me that you actually approve of the Panda running around showing off those embarrassing toys for all to see!?" Yet before Tigress could go on, Shifu held up his paw silencing her at once before he stated, "Though I do admit that I would prefer that the Dragon Warrior be a bit more...conservative, with his personal hobby, who are we to deny him his memories?"

Tigress quickly folded her arms as she pointed out, "You're his Master! It is perfectly within your right to have him remove those ridiculous things from the palace!" Shifu merely stared at Tigress for a few seconds before he asked, "So, you would have me force Po to remove his action figures from the premises and that would solve everything, is that it?"

Tigress nodded her head slightly before closing her eyes and admitted, "I certainly believe it would be a step in the right direction, yes." Shifu muttered a "Hmm..." thoughtfully before he said, "I see...well then I suppose I should also have Master Crane remove his Calligraphy equipment, as well as Master Viper's Dance Ribbons, Master Mantis's personal scrolls, Master Monkey's Almond cookies would no longer be tolerated and of course You will need to be rid of your Dominoes."

Tigress slowly dropped her arms and said, "I didn't say that the others needed to be involved Master." but Shifu simply nodded his head before placing another domino and said, "I'm aware, however, if I must force one student to abandon that which reminds him of his home and past...then I must do so for you all, would you not agree?"

Tigress was now looking at Shifu with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty. She never meant to get her other comrades involved in this conversation and wasn't sure how it happened. Seeing Tigress's reaction, Shifu could not help but smirk before saying, "Tigress, we all deserve to hold on to things that can remind us of where we come from. After everything you all have sacrificed to become protectors of China, how could you ask me to force any of you to give up such treasures?"

Tigress however appeared not to have heard him just then as she then grumbled while she reached for a new domino and placed it, "Honestly...what kind of warrior walks around carrying wooden action figures?They're just toys...what could possibly be so special about them that he would still hold on to such things?" Immediately Shifu grabbed Tigress's attention as she heard an agitated, "***A****h-****hem***."

Looking up, Tigress's eyes snapped wide open as she watched Master Shifu produce from within the sleeve of his robe a small red wooden box of sorts. But as Shifu held the box up with an unamused expression on his face, Tigress slowly began to recognize that the box resembled an identical version of the great and famous Master Yao's meditation box.

Tigress was now slowly looking back and forth between Shifu and the wooden box, her mouth completely agape before she finally managed to whisper, "You...are joking?" Shifu however never gave any indication that she was right as he brought the box back to him and looked down upon it wile saying, "Although I am nowhere near as ...open...about it. I too posses items from my own younger days, Tigress."

Tigress was at a loss. Never in her wildest dreams would she have taken Shifu for one to posses such a thing. "I...never knew." was all Tigress could say before Shifu returned the wooden box to the inside of his sleeve and said, "Of course not... In fact, I believe you are now only the second person to ever learn that I possess such a thing." Tigress then perked her head up and asked, "Second? Who else knows of this, Master?"

Shifu then answered Tigress simply, "Why, just the Dragon Warrior. I suppose you could say that once he found out we sort of... bonded... over the subject." Tigress then looked away from her Master for a long moment. She couldn't believe it. Master Shifu had confided in Po about something personal but not her, his most accomplished student. Tigress expected to feel disappointed by this but never did she think she would ever feel so...hurt. Although she and Shifu had been together for many years and he was the one who took her away from the Orphanage she was abandoned at as an infant, the two were anything but exactly close.

"He...never said anything about it to us...or to me at least." Tigress stated while Shifu answered, "Of course he didn't, it was not his secret to reveal now was it?" Tigress merely shook her head before Shifu continued, "If there is one thing that Panda is capable of it's being true to his friends and knowing when it's not his place to reveal their own private business." Tigress couldn't help herself anymore and had to ask, "So...since you two have ...bonded... over those ...THINGS...do you talk about such things often?"

Shifu then surprised Tigress as he shook his head no and admitted, "No, not often. Only on rare occasions. I do know however that should I ever require anything involving this secret of mine, that I can trust in Po to help, while also keeping such a secret. In fact, Once I learned that he was going to see Xiao Xiang today, I had askd that he fetch me a new set of Paints and brushes so that I might do some touch ups on my Master Yao replica."

Tigress raised her eyebrow as she asked in disbelief, "You know about this Xiao Xiang fellow Po wanted to go see?" Shifu closed his eyes and then said, "But of course. Any serious collector knows about Xiao Xiang. He's perhaps the greatest wood carver in all of China. His inventory of Hand crafted Kung Fu Master Replicas is the most extensive on this side of the country, though his prices are just as high if you ask me."

Tigress couldn't believe she was hearing this. It was almost too much for her to take. Her Master, not only the greatest Kung Fu teacher in all of China, but also known to be one of the harshest... possessed a children's plaything. Tigress then looked over to her Master after a long moment of silence before saying, "I just don't understand...how a piece of wood could mean so much to someone."

Shifu then stroked his beard thoughtfully before saying, "As I said, different objects can mean different things to different people. But... If you are indeed curious as to know, perhaps you should ask the Dragon Warrior for yourself. In truth, I am surprised to find out that you don't know the answer to that question already."

Tigress then tilted her head in confusion as she asked, "What do you mean, Master? How could I possibly know the answer to that?" Shifu then picked up one of the few remaining blocks and placed it on the floor before saying, "To be honest, I would have thought Po would have talked to you about such things already. You see, after Po discovered my little secret and I learned that I could trust him with it, we started talking about his collection, my Master Yao figurine among other various subject that I do not need to waste my time trying to explain-" at this Tigress's ears fell slightly at Shifu not wanting to be more open with her before they perked back up again with interest as he said, "-but as soon as I mentioned how you used to have a special set of Dominoes as a child...well, he seemed to be rather interested."

A long moment of silence soon followed Shifu's last sentence, causing him to look up from the domino display that was nearly finished, to see Tigress now staring at him with a face that was mixed with not only confusion, but also disbelief. Shifu then called out to the Feline, "Tigress?" before his ears twitched as Tigress asked, "You...You told him?"

Immediately Shifu's ears fell as he realized perhaps he shouldn't have revealed something that personal instead of Tigress. "Yes, I did. At the time I thought nothing of it. After all, all children are known to possess such things. I apologize if I may have overstepped any bounds Master Tigress but I do not believe any harm will come from Po knowing...Tigress?" but as Shifu called out to her, Tigress was anything but responsive.

He didn't do it? Po never invaded her personal quarters in order to search for something to use against her as a threat? He never went looking for any information or evidence to have to use to humiliate her in front of others? Shifu simply just...told him? And yet here today, Po had the perfect opportunity to expose her little secret to the rest of the Five...but instead, all he did was let her know that he knew...but why? What was his game? What was that Panda really after?

Tigress was then brought back from her thoughts by Shifu saying, "As I said Tigress, if you wish to know why the Dragon Warrior is so particulate about his action figures, I suppose you should perhaps simply ask him yourself." But as Tigress was about to respond, she recalled how she had crushed Po's action figure of herself and immediately her ears flattened against her head once more as she whispered, "Somehow...I don't think he's going to be in the mood to share with me."

Shifu nodded his head before saying, "Yes...I suppose he may still indeed be a tad upset with what happened earlier today. But...perhaps Tigress, if you were to apologize..." it was here where Shifu began to trail off once more as he watched Tigress's face for a reaction of sorts, but all he saw was the feline looking down at the almost finished design the dominoes had nearly formed.

A long moment of silence passed between the two as Shifu waited for Tigress to say something. But when it became apparent that she wouldn't, Shifu sighed quietly to himself before reaching for the final domino inside the bag and said, "You know Tigress... in order for this dilemma to be resolved, someone must take the first step forward, otherwise you will forever remain standing at this crossroad."

As Shifu finished, he placed the final domino before Tigress and offered the Feline a small smile to which Tigress finally met his gaze briefly before staring back at the display before her. She certainly had made a mess with this whole situation. She had always assumed before judging by Po's carefree and childish personality for the most part, that that was what the Panda truly was... a child. And the fact that he was always obsessing over those wooden action figures of his for Tigress always just served to reinforce those suspicions.

But now...after talking things over with her Master...perhaps there was a different reason he was so protective over those toys of his. In that moment, Tigress briefly wondered to herself that if she did in fact ask the Panda why those things were so precious to him...would he tell her? Or had she simply caused too much damage? It was then that Tigress recalled the way Po had looked at her in the training hall. His face covered in tear stains ... but his eyes...never had Tigress witnessed so much anger behind those eyes.

"And what if...what if I can't move forward Master...what if I cannot move forward after that first step?" Tigress asked as she looked back up and over to her Master. Shifu smiled slightly once more before saying, "Then you take another step...and then another, until you have finally reached your destination. With any luck, perhaps you will reach it with Po once again at your side. But first...you must be the one to take that first step and hope that he follows."

It was then that Shifu waved his hand before the Dominoes that the two of them had laid out in the shape that resembled that of the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, motioning for Tigress to do the honors. Tigress smiled slightly before she moved her paw over to the closest domino and flicked the first tile forward, causing the block to fall back against the next block in line, knocking it over and so on.

Tigress watched with a sense of wonder that she had all but forgotten, as one by one the dominoes fell, allowing the light to shimmer off the golden painted surfaces briefly across the display. Shifu watched Tigress the entire time as she watched the dominoes and he was briefly able to see the little girl he had helped so long ago back in that orphanage, happy once again and the old Master could not help but smile.

Once the final domino had fallen and produced the last shimmer, Shifu stood up from his sitting position and said, "Well then... I suppose you know what it is you must do then Tigress?" Tigress briefly looked at her Master and once again her smile was gone, replaced by a frown as she muttered, "Yes Master...I understand what I must do. I thank you for your council." Shifu nodded slightly before saying, "I know you will do what you must. Good luck." And with that, the old Master left the room leaving Tigress alone with her thoughts.

Once Shifu closed the door behind him, Tigress began to slowly pick up the dominoes that now laid about before her in a significantly sloppier fashion. As she did so, she briefly muttered to herself, "I know what it is I must do Master...but how must I go about doing it?"

Tigress knew that she would have to apologize to the Panda for her actions and for her harsh words towards him, but in truth, Tigress wasn't certain that it would do any good. According to Shifu, Tigress had literally destroyed one of Po's treasures and then proceeded to humiliate him in front of his friends.

Again the image of Po's eyes flashed before her mind and Tigress began to feel more and more certain that any attempt at an apology would be futile. She needed to find a way to show the Panda that she was trying to be genuine with this apology...but how? How could she prove to Po that she wanted to make things right between them?

As Tigress dropped the last Domino inside the brown bag, she briefly stared at the contents inside, watching as the light gently reflected off some of the blocks inside. Suddenly Tigress's eyes widened as an idea suddenly came to her. "_Could it work_?" Tigress thought to herself before her ears fell as she thought, "_Is there no other way? No...Master Shifu said to do whatever I must to make this right...and right now I see no other __immediate option__._"

So with that, Tigress pulled the draw string tight, closing the brown sack once more before she stood up with the sack in paw and proceeded to exit her room, making sure none of the other Masters or Servants were nearby. Just because Po might have learned about her dominoes, didn't mean she was ready for anyone else to know about them.

After closing her door, Tigress then proceeded to tie the sack to her waist using her black training sash and began her search for the Panda. She just hoped she could find him before running in to any of the others and that her plan might actually work.

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><p><strong>And there is Chapter 2! The next chapter brings this short story to a close.I willalsobe updating my profile over the next day or so to update my progress on my other stories I'm writing. hopefully I can answer some questions for you guys! Until then, thanks for reading and remember... <strong>

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